Migraine

Around 20-22 years ago, I was getting migraine-with-aura attacks about monthly.

In that same time frame, I had an episode that was diagnosed as a TIA. I had unilateral weakness (really, "feeling of heaviness and clumsiness" would be more accurate) of arm and leg. Went to ER. Doc checked me over, including manual comparison of the strength of my arms; even though I perceived one as feeling weird, any difference in strength was too small for him to detect. As I recall, he also gave me an EKG; results were normal.

ASAP after that ER visit, I got an appointment with my dad's cardiologist. He checked me over, and ordered various tests -- blood work, CAT scan, sonograms of my face and neck. Nothing unusual found -- No clots, no problems of lipids, no clogging of vessels.

His best guess was that I'd had a TIA due to temporary arterial spasm.

Now, it probably doesn't matter, but now that I know more about the range of possible symptoms of migraine, what are the chances that the supposed TIA was actually an odd non-headache manifestation of migraine? I'm really becoming curious as to how many of the odd or unpleasant experiences of my lifetime might ultimately trace back to migraine.

I'm SO sorry I didn't see this earlier. I've been a bit behind since spending a week in Dallas.

This is a good question. It can be extremely hard at times to tell the difference between a TIA and a Migraine.

It's possible that this episode and other experiences you had were related to Migraines. You'll probably never really know.

This is one reason it's important for us to get in touch with our doctors when we have different symptoms. We certainly don't want to just assume those symptoms are Migraine, then risk permanent damage if it turns out it was a stroke, and we didn't get treatment in time.

One more thing that makes living with Migraine disease a challenge.

quote:

Originally posted by Teri Robert:
I'm SO sorry I didn't see this earlier. I've been a bit behind since spending a week in Dallas. ...

Hey, an event that happened over 20 years ago and left no long-term effects is hardly an emergency issue! Don't worry about it!

But I do appreciate that you did get around to replying. Thanks!

You're welcome.

quote:

Originally posted by Norrin Radd:

quote:

Originally posted by Teri Robert:
I'm SO sorry I didn't see this earlier. I've been a bit behind since spending a week in Dallas. ...

Hey, an event that happened over 20 years ago and left no long-term effects is hardly an emergency issue! Don't worry about it!

But I do appreciate that you did get around to replying. Thanks!